Good Morning All,

I'm due to have my VSG surgery abroad in the Czech Republic in September.

There's a huge stigma around getting surgery abroad, especially when we have the National Health Service where I live in the UK.

I chose to have the surgery abroad because it's cheaper and the conditions of the hospitals are at a high standard, however, it hasn't stopped my family from pleading me not to go.

What have your experiences been like? Would you have surgery abroad? How did your family react?

I would have been very reluctant to have it done overseas, primarily because surgeons in general prefer that you have surgery in your home town, to ensure continuity of care (I was discouraged from having surgery to repair an anal fissure by a colorectal surgeon in DC because I was about to move to Chicago; he recommended I move and then have the surgery in Chicago, which I did).

I’m from the UK (Manchester) and also having my surgery in the Czech Republic in January 2019, how was your experience?

On 12/28/2018 at 4:01 PM, CBills said:

I’m from the UK (Manchester) and also having my surgery in the Czech Republic in January 2019, how was your experience?

Heya - How did your procedure go?

I ended up not having the surgery. My mother talked me out of it.

However, I am planning to get my surgery done in april - I'm looking at clinics in Turkey.

On 01/17/2019 at 12:20 am, DG_VSG said:

Heya - How did your procedure go?

I ended up not having the surgery. My mother talked me out of it.

However, I am planning to get my surgery done in april - I'm looking at clinics in Turkey.

Everything went well, everybody at the clinic was wonderful and spoke English, I was looked after extremely well ?

I had mine done on the NHS (Sunderland) so I can't comment on oversea's but from what I've read so long as you do your research etc and ensure they have good reviews and reputation then you should be safe.

I know of people who have had them done abroad and their GP has supported them in the after care as well as taking required blood samples etc prior to the Surgery. So I think the main concern is just doing your research well and making sure that the Clinic you are choosing is safe and of a high standard ?

There are good surgeons all over the world and you can get a great surgery in many countries. The issue is follow up. If you have a complication sometime down the road, do you have a doctor near you that can care for you and understands the procedure you had?? I know of plenty of people who went to Mexico for their surgery and it's worked out great. The sleeve is a pretty simple procedure as far as the actual surgery is concerned, so it might be something doable abroad--just do your homework so you sure you're working a doctor and hospital with a good reputation and lots of experience. However, when you start getting into more complicated procedures like a duodenal switch, I wouldn't go far from home.

I had mine done in Bruges and couldn’t have been happier. Surgeon is top notch and it was in a large teaching hospital which was reassuring.